iiNet more than doubles profit

Australia's third-largest internet service provider has more than doubled its net profits for the first half of the 2012-2013 financial year, reporting a 122 percent increase in net profits to AU$31.9 million.

The company said that the increase in profits were due to extra revenues and improved margins from the acquisitions of Internode and TransACT in 2012. Revenue was up 30 percent to AU$474 million for the half. iiNet's full year net profit in the last financial year was AU$37.1 million.

The company reported having 837,000 broadband customers as of the end of December 2012, with a total of 1.61 million services. The number of on-net customers remained at 545,000 from June 2012, while the number of off-net customers dropped from 289,000 to 280,000. The company added an extra 6,000 new National Broadband Network (NBN) and fibre customers in that period.

The number of ex-AAPT customers leaving iiNet slowed in the period, from 5,300 in the first quarter, to 2,700 in the second quarter.

Business revenue was worth AU$90 million to iiNet for the half, compared to AU$120 million for the full previous financial year.

iiNet CEO Michael Malone said in a statement that the company's focus was on getting customers to take more products with iiNet.

"With over 830,000 connected households and businesses, we are now increasing the average number of products per customer, reducing churn and driving revenue growth," he said in a statement.

"We are in the best position we have ever been in the company's 20-year history," Malone said.